Dozens of bodies have been found at a former prison site in the southwestern city of Gwangju.

The Justice Ministry said on Friday that around 40 sets of unidentified remains were discovered during burial transfer work at the site of the former Gwangju Prison on Thursday.

The bodies are suspected to belong to victims of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement of 1980.

However, those who died at Gwangju Prison without family members were also buried near the site in question. 

A ministry official said that identification procedures will take place using DNA analysis.

The acting justice minister and chief of the Gwangju district prosecutors office visited the site on Friday. 

The uncovered bodies reportedly have been sent to an armed forces hospital in Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province.